Illusive Future
by Casteal
Summary: It's been 3 years since the girls' last mission as guardians. All of them are focusing on living normal lives. Yet somewhere in the midst of all of this normality, the five of them have started seeing unexplainable things. WxM, HxE, and TxN.
1. Chapter 1: Ice

This is my first W.I.T.C.H. fanfic and actually, the first fanfic that I've ever decided to post. Please R&R.

**Summary:** It's been 3 years since the girls' last mission as guardians. All of them are focusing on living normal lives. Yet somewhere in the midst of all of this normality, the five of them have started seeing unexplainable things. The guardians return to Kandrakar to find the answers and discover that they must travel through time to stop this new villain from destroying everything. (Sorry for the crappy summary, but the mystery is what's going to make it good so...) Definite pairings in the story are WillxMatt, Hay LinxEric, and TaraneexNigel. The rest are subject to change at any time, although you're welcome to give your input on which ones you'd like to see.

**Author's Notes:** Peter may be a bit out of character. I'm not really sure. I can't remember what he was like all that well to be honest. And I've decided to combine elements from the show and elements from the comics, because there were some things that I liked better in the show and some things that I liked better in the comics. There are a few things that I wasn't sure of, like Will's bracelet and Matt's tour with Karmilla in the comics mainly because I haven't read those issues, I've only seen images from them in various languages that I cannot read. So if something's completely and totally off, you'll know why. Each chapter is around 6-8 pages long.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own W.I.T.C.H. or any of it's characters/places.

Cornelia twirled on the ice. The beautiful blonde had the grace of a swan and the elegance of a queen. She smiled as her boyfriend Peter lifted her up off the ice and carried her out to the seats that surrounded the ice rink. She kissed him lightly before he set her down in one of the seats. "Hey, I'm gonna get us some hot chocolate from the café, okay?" Peter asked. Cornelia simply nodded. As soon as he left, she quickly took off her skates and pulled her journal out of her bag and began writing.

_Ever since the Oracle gave the Guardians a sort of 'vacation' as Irma calls it, I've been able to focus on my skating again. Peter agreed to skate pairs with me last year, I was so happy about it. Practicing for regionals has been hard, but I know we can win. Last time I only got third, this time Peter and I will take the gold. I just know it. Speaking of Peter, our 1 year anniversary is coming up soon. He keeps saying that he has something special planned and I can't wait to see what it is._

_I haven't seen Elyon in about 3 or 4 months now. She usually comes every few months, but she said that things have gotten busy in Meridian lately. I just hope that she gets here in time to watch me skate in the regionals and to come to my 18th birthday party._

_As for everyone else, they're all great. Even without going on missions together all the time, we've managed to stay close friends. I'll just make a list of what everyone's been up to lately..._

_Will - Still dating Matt. They've been together for what? 3 years now? Her relationship with Matt has been way more stable than any of ours. And to think that they had such a rocky start. Well, anyway, she's pursuing a career as a veterinarian with writing on the side. I'm glad that she's found her calling. She also won first place at the swimming nationals. And her mom finally tied the knot with Mr. Collins, they're getting ready to go on their honeymoon right now. _

_Irma - She's dated more guys than I care to count, Joel being among the many. She couldn't handle an exclusive relationship. She's currently pursuing a career as a marine biologist. Recently, she had the biggest 17th birthday blow out ever. I swear she invited the entire school and every guy within a 50 mile radius. But other than that, not much is going on with her at the moment._

_Taranee - She's had an off and on relationship with Nigel over the past few years. The biggest break they had was when she started liking Aaron, a college guy, and pursued a relationship with him last year. He seemed like he was perfect for her, but he had a hidden agenda, and everything ended badly. I won't go into details, but the guy attempted to do things to her, and Taranee wound up almost burning down his apartment. I'm glad to say that she's back with Nigel again, and hopefully, they'll stay together for a while this time. Besides that, she's studying to become a psychologist and she's gotten early acceptance from Harvard and surprisingly, Juliard. She skipped a grade and will be graduating with me this year. Though, she still hasn't decided on where she wants to go._

_Hay Lin - Her and Eric are currently trying to keep their long distance relationship going, though I know it's hard on Hay Lin. But Eric's supposed to come back to Heatherfield in a few weeks, so we'll see how things go. Hay Lin's also been pursuing a career as a fashion designer and everything seems to be going well there._

_Well, that's all for today. _

_Cornelia_

Cornelia closed her journal as Peter approached her with two hot chocolates. "Hey, what were you writing about?" He asked. She just smiled.

"Just things that have happened over the past few years. It's my first entry in my new journal. Will got it for me as an early birthday present," Cornelia replied as she put her journal away.

"You excited about tomorrow?" Peter asked, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

"Of course! It's our anniversary," She replied as she took a glance at her watch. "Oh wow, it's 8:30PM already. I have to get home, okay?"

"Yeah, just don't forget to meet me here tomorrow around 8:00AM," Peter yelled as Cornelia ran out.

The next day, Cornelia arrived the ice rink around 7:00AM. "Good, right on schedule. I'll get some practice in before going out with Peter..." She said to herself as she stood outside of the ice rink's building. She noticed a man walking around the corner of the building and took a few steps toward him. "That's weird...no one's usually here at this hour..." She said as she walked toward the corner. She then saw the man sitting on a bench near the building. He glanced back at her and she caught a glimpse of his face before he ran away. "...Caleb?" Cornelia asked as the man disappeared in a flash of light. "It was you, wasn't it?"

Meanwhile...

"Will, you'd better get up. Your mother's leaving today, remember?" Will's frog alarm clock yelled to her as it rang simultaneously.

"You're way more annoying than the other clock, you know that?!" The red head yelled as she pushed the off button on the alarm.

"Well, you're no walk in the park either missy," The clock replied as Will got up.

"I swear, one more peep and it's into the-" Will was then suddenly cut off by her mom.

"Are you talking to your clock again, Will?" Susan asked with a smirk.

"N-no, whatever gave you that idea?" Will replied with a nervous laugh.

"I thought you'd grow out of that, but look at you...18 and still talking to your appliances," Susan mumbled as she walked into the kitchen. Will then quickly changed into a pink t-shirt and a pair of jeans and joined her mother in the kitchen. "Okay, now I'll be gone for 2 weeks. Emergency numbers are by the phone and you can reach me on my cell if you need me."

"Relax mom, I'll be fine. I think I'll get some packing done while you're gone. I know you're anxious to get me out of here," Will said as she put some bread in the toaster.

"You can stay as long as you like, Will. You know that. I'm not exactly crazy about you moving in with Matt either."

"Matt's a great guy, mom, and we're both going to the same college so..."

"I know, but couldn't you room with one of your friends instead?"

"No, Hay Lin and Irma are getting an apartment together, Taranee's going to be in a totally different state, and I don't think I could handle _living_ with Cornelia," Will replied as the doorbell rang.

"Dean's here. I've got to go. Bye, Will. I'll see you in a couple of weeks," Susan said as she gave Will a hug and a kiss.

"Bye, mom!" Will yelled as Susan left with Mr. Collins. Will was just about to get her toast out of the toaster when the phone rang. "Hello?" She answered.

"Hey Will, it's Matt. Would you like to meet me for breakfast?"

"I'd love to! Where do you want to meet?"

"Um, how about we meet at the park around 9:30 and then decide where to go from there?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Okay, great, see you there!"

"Yeah," Will replied as she hung up the phone. She turned off the toaster, threw on a pair of sneakers, and rushed out the door.

Meanwhile, Irma was still fast asleep in her bed, dreaming about Joel, when she was abruptly woken up by her father. "Irma, get up! Someone's here to see you!" Her father yelled as he banged on her bedroom door.

"Just a minute!" Irma screamed back as she rushed to get dressed. She ran downstairs hoping that it was Joel, but instead, she saw Martin Tubbs standing at her doorstep.

"Hello, cupcake!" Martin greeted her.

"Hi, Martin," Irma greeted him back with a bit of irritation in her voice.

"You look ravishing today!" Martin stated as he gazed at her. Irma was a curvy girl and she loved to flaunt it. She was wearing a pink short sleeved blouse and a jean skirt, all of which perfectly complimented her figure. You'd never guess that she had thrown this outfit together in only a few minutes. _All that rushing just to come down and see...Martin of all people. _Irma sighed. _He's not as geeky as he used to be though. A bit less awkward maybe...too bad he's still Martin. _Irma thought with a tiny bit of a chuckle.

"What do you want?" She asked as she tucked a strand of her honey highlighted brown hair behind her ear.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to-" Martin was then abruptly cut off by Irma yelling to Hay Lin, who was walking up to Irma's house.

"Hey Hay!" She yelled as she waved, completely ignoring Martin.

"Hi, Irma!" Hay Lin yelled back, bright as ever. The young Chinese girl's smile could light up even the darkest of days in an instant.

"Sorry Martin, already have plans with Hay," Irma yelled to Martin as she ran towards Hay Lin, leaving him on her doorstep. _Okay, so I didn't REALLY already have plans with Hay, but he doesn't have to know that._ She thought to herself as she and Hay Lin began walking.

"What did Martin want?" Hay Lin asked with a bit of a giggle. She knew exactly what he wanted - a date with Irma - but she always asked anyway. She loved teasing Irma about it.

"A date, what else?" Irma replied with a slightly disgusted look on her face. "But anyway...what're we doing today?" She asked after realizing that she was just following Hay Lin.

"I wanted to ask Will if she could take us to Kandrakar. I want to visit grandma. I haven't seen her in months. But Will's not picking up her phone," Hay Lin replied.

"Oh, she must be out with Matt. You'd think they'd have gotten sick of each other after three years..." Irma stated. This caused Hay Lin to giggle a bit.

"Not everyone's as hard to please as you are Irma," She laughed.

"I'm not hard to please, everyone else is just boring!" Irma replied. She suddenly felt cold. "Brr, why does it feel like we just stepped into a freezer?" She asked as she rubbed her arms. The two girls then stopped dead in their tracks. "What the...?" Irma mumbled in shock as she looked around Heatherfield, now covered in ice.

"But it's spring, there shouldn't be ice anywhere! Besides, the sun's out," Hay Lin stated.

"Can't you take care of this, Hay Hay?" Irma asked, referring to Hay Lin's power over the air.

"This is way too much, I can't do it unless I'm in guardian form," She replied, taking a few steps onto the ice.

"You see how useless water is? I can only make MORE ice!" Irma yelled with a bit of irritation.

"We should probably go find Taranee," Hay Lin said as she ran across the ice toward Taranee's house.

"Great...ice skating on a bumpy road," Irma said with sarcasm as she attempted to get across the ice, stumbling the whole way. "Miss fire guardian had better be able to do something about this..."

Will sat in the park waiting for Matt. She glanced down at her frog watch. "10 o' clock...he said he'd meet me here half an hour ago..." She mumbled. Will began to fiddle with the bracelet on her left wrist that sat next to her watch. Looking at that bracelet always made her smile, it was a gift from Matt. It had their initials engraved onto two golden square beads on it. Ever since the day that he gave it to her, she never took it off. It was the only thing that kept her sane while Matt was away for those long six months on tour with Karmilla. She felt that it was almost like a promise that he'd come back and they'd pick up where they left off. And they did.

"Will!" Her thoughts were interrupted by Matt's voice, calling out to her as he ran to her. "Sorry I'm so late, I had to get here from Midgale," He said as he sat down next to Will.

"What were you doing in Midgale?" Will asked.

"Oh, you'll see," Matt replied with a smile.

"Come on, please tell me?" Will begged as she gave him a hug.

"Nope, hugs won't get me to tell you what this surprise is," He replied.

"Can't I have just a little hint then?"

"Alright, it's a huge gift for you."

"...That doesn't help much," Will mumbled, returning to her spot on the bench and crossing her arms. Noticing her irritation, Matt kissed her, then stood up and took her hand.

"Aww, come on, don't be mad. I promise you that this surprise is worth being surprised over. Come on, let's go get breakfast," He said with a smile.

"That's easy for you to say, I never surprised you by going away on tour with Karmilla for six months," Will replied as she stood up.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. Besides, it's a lot worse knowing that your girlfriend could go off on some huge mission and not come back."

"I haven't had one of those missions in years though," Will replied. Then she noticed Irma, Hay Lin, and Taranee running towards her.

"Thank goodness we found you!" Hay Lin yelled as the three girls approached them.

"What's wrong?" Will asked.

"Half the town's been turned into an ice cube, that's what! Come on, see for yourself," Irma replied with a bit of irritation. Will and Matt followed the three to the area that the girls had claimed was iced over.

"That's weird...I swear it was here just a few minutes ago," Irma said as the girls stared at the town, no ice in sight.

"We wouldn't lie to you about this Will. It was here, I swear," Hay Lin said.

"They're not kidding, I saw it too," Taranee stated, looking around in disbelief.

"No, I believe all of you, but I wonder what happened to all of the ice? It couldn't have just vanished, could it?" Will asked as she looked around for any sign that there had been some kind of abnormal weather that day. But everything looked completely normal.

"This is really weird...it was here...I-I saw it...were we just hallucinating?" Hay Lin asked Irma. Irma just shrugged.

"That was no hallucination, it was freezing. And the ground was all slippery. I wouldn't have bruises on my butt if it were just a hallucination," Irma replied. "Good thing Corny's not here or she'd tell us that we're all crazy."

"Hey, where is Cornelia anyway?" Will asked.

"Peter took her on a cruise for their anniversary," Taranee replied. "Speaking of which, I wonder how it's going?" She asked, hoping that something strange hadn't happened to them to them too.

Meanwhile, Peter pulled into a parking space near the docks. He got out and ran to Cornelia's door to open it and lifted her out of the truck. "Can't I look yet?" Cornelia asked, about to take off the blindfold.

"Nope, just a little further," Peter replied as he pulled Cornelia's hands away from the blindfold. She could hear the clicking noises that her green heels were making on the cement. _Okay, I can cross picnic off the list._ She thought to herself. She couldn't help but wonder where Peter was taking her. The more she thought about it though, the more her mind began to stray. _Caleb never took me anywhere romantic like Peter does._ She was always comparing the two, she couldn't help it most of the time._ No, I shouldn't think of Caleb. He dumped me for my best friend. It's over. Besides, it was a simple childish romance, nothing to get too worked up over. _As her mind strayed, the smile that was on her face seemed to do the same. _But look at Will and Matt...still together after all these years. Didn't they start out as just a childish romance?_ Cornelia's thoughts always brought her to questions like that. She would've held onto Caleb until the bitter end, yet he didn't feel the same way. Some scars never heal, and the one that Caleb left on her heart still affected Cornelia to this day, though her pride would never allow her to admit it. It wasn't that she didn't love Peter, she did, but she didn't dream of Peter every night. She hadn't known Peter since she was child, before she even truly met him in person. Caleb had always been part of her life and she knew that somehow, he always would be.Noticing that she was no longer smiling, Peter asked, "What's wrong?" Cornelia just shook her head, ridding her mind of her thoughts of Caleb for now.

"Nothing," She replied as she faked a smile, trying to get her mind focused on what was to come.Peter guided Cornelia to the cruise ship they'd be taking and slowly removed the blindfold.

"Peter, this is incredible!" Cornelia yelled with excitement as she stared at the cruise ship with admiration.

"And it's all ours for the day. No one else will be on board except for the captain and a few waiters," Peter said as he took Cornelia's hand.

"You're amazing. You know that, right?" Cornelia asked. A bit of a smug look appeared on Peter's face.

"I know," He replied with a smirk, causing Cornelia to laugh. She gave him a kiss before pulling him onto the ship. "Shall we set sail, mademoiselle?" He asked while taking a bow.

"Yes, monsieur," Cornelia giggled. Peter gave the captain the signal to go and the ship began to drift away from the docks. Before long, it was going at a good speed. Cornelia leaned on the balcony, smiling as the wind blew through her once perfectly curled blonde hair. "This couldn't be any more perfect," She told Peter, who was leaning on the balcony beside her.

"I'm glad that I've made you happy. Sometimes I don't feel like I'm good enough," He stated, this caused Cornelia to jolt up from the balcony so that she could look at him.

"What would make you think that?" Cornelia asked, keeping her eyes glued to his face.

"I don't know, it just seems like you're in love with someone else sometimes," Peter replied with a sigh. "I know, it sounds like I'm being insecure or something, but I'm not," He continued.

"You're the only one for me, Peter..." Cornelia paused. _That's not entirely true._ She thought to herself. "I love you more than anyone else in this world. Come on, let's go below deck," She said with a smile as she grabbed his hand. _Well, at least that wasn't a lie. I do love him more than anyone else in **this **world._ Frustrated with her own heart, Cornelia forced her mind to take over instead. _Peter knows that I'm not completely his right now. But maybe I will be if I give myself to him..._ She thought as she pulled Peter down below deck and into one of the rooms. "Let's make this day even more memorable," She said as she sat down on the bed. Peter decided to let her think for a few minutes and put off what he knew was on Cornelia's mind by telling her that he was going to get some drinks for them. Cornelia laid down on the bed and waited patiently for his return, staring up at the ceiling. It was then that she saw what looked like one of the guardians laying across the ceiling. But it wasn't any of the girls that Cornelia knew, she looked different. "What in the world...?" Cornelia mumbled, but when she blinked, the fairy like creature was gone. Then she felt like the ship had crashed into something and rushed up to the deck. "An iceberg...!" She screamed. The ship was sinking fast and there was no land around them. Cornelia closed her eyes for a few seconds, unable to believe that this was real. And sure enough, when she opened them, she was back in the bedroom, as if nothing had happened. "What was that...?" She whispered as she sat back up on the bed. A chill air blew on her and she suddenly felt as if someone were watching her from behind. She looked behind her, but no one was there._ I shouldn't put so much stress on myself...I'm starting to hallucinate._ She thought to herself. Cornelia was always a rational thinker. Even when the girls had been given magical powers, she was focused on the realistic side of things and almost refused to believe that anything had changed. She was still like that.

"Cornelia," Peter called Cornelia's name as he entered the room. He handed her one of the sodas. "You sure you want to do this?" He asked, both of them knew what was about to happen.

"I'm sure," Cornelia replied. She set the soda on the night stand next to the bed. Cornelia, always the mature one. In her mind, she had left all of her childhood behind her a long time ago, but it wasn't until that day on the cruise ship that she truly felt like an adult.


	2. Chapter 2: Return to Kandrakar

**Disclaimer:** I do not own W.I.T.C.H. or any of it's characters/places.

Despite the odd occurrences that had happened on Sunday, the girls still had to go to school the next day. Hay Lin sat in the computer lab of Sheffield Institute, reading her email. She couldn't help but smile when she saw an email from Eric. _Yap!_ She screamed in her mind as she opened the email and started reading it to herself. _Hey Hay Lin, I can't wait to see you! I'll be arriving in a couple of days, just have to finish packing and getting my plane tickets in order. I just want to tell you that this will be my last trip to Heatherfield from my parents house. I was going to wait and tell you this when I got there, but I just couldn't...sorry Hay Lin but... _Hay Lin couldn't read any further. Her eyes were tearing up. Was Eric going to break up with her? She didn't even want to think about it. She forced herself to continue reading the email. There was a large gap between what Eric had written there and next line though, so she had scroll down, completely overcome by nervousness as she did so. Then she saw it, the last line of the message. It caused her to scream aloud. "ERIC'S GOING TO GO TO A COLLEGE THAT'S REALLY CLOSE TO THE ONE I AM AND WANTS TO GET AN APARTMENT TOGETHER! YAP!" Her scream caused everyone in the computer lab to stare at her, but Hay Lin didn't care. She felt like she had just exploded with happiness upon reading that line and that the entire room was now covered with adorable fluffy bunnies. Eric Lyndon, the boy of her dreams, wanted to live with her. This moment would've been so perfect if the teacher hadn't heard Hay Lin's scream as well.

"I would ask you if there was something that you wanted to share with the class, miss Lin, but it seems that you already have," The teacher stated as he stood over Hay Lin's computer. "You aren't supposed to be reading your emails during class, let alone screaming to the entire class their contents. Principle's office, now," He ordered as he pointed towards the door. Hay Lin gathered her things, shut down the programs on the computer, and walked out the door. Going to the principle's office didn't even bother her today though, she wasn't even listening to Mrs. Knickerbocker chew her out for reading her emails during class. Hay Lin was too focused on hiding her enormous smile to pay attention.

"Do you understand, miss Lin?" Mrs. Knickerbocker asked. Hay Lin just nodded. She hadn't heard a word that Mrs. Knickerbocker said. "You're free to go then." Hay Lin left the office and walked outside to her friends. It was lunch period and the girls always sat together.

"Where were you, Hay?" Irma asked, with her mouth full of her sandwich.

"Principle's office. I got in trouble for reading my email during class," Hay Lin replied as she sat down and took her lunch out of her backpack.

"But EVERYONE reads their email during class. You're totally weird if you don't," Irma stated.

"I kind of screamed over what Eric said in the email though."

"Why? What did he say?" Will asked.

"He said...HE SAID HE WANTS TO GET AN APARTMENT WITH ME!" Hay Lin squealed.

"That's awesome, Hay!" Will yelled excitedly. She was the first one to agree to move in with her boyfriend and was happy that Hay Lin would be doing the same. It meant that could that they could talk to each other about it and be able to relate to some things.

"I'm happy for you Hay Lin, but could we please discuss some more serious things?" Cornelia asked with a bit of irritation. What she saw in the cruise ship was still bothering her and she was wondering if any of the other girls had seen something similar. "Something strange happened while I was on the cruise ship," Cornelia stated.

"So something strange happened to you as well?" Taranee asked.

"What do you mean as well? You mean something happened here too?" Cornelia asked. The rest of the girls nodded.

"Half the town was covered in ice, then when we went to go get Will, it was gone," Hay Lin replied.

"While I was on the cruise ship, I saw a fairy looking creature laying across the ceiling. Then she vanished as the ship crashed into an iceberg. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and when I opened them, it was as if nothing had happened," Cornelia said.

"Just like the ice...when I got there, everything looked normal," Will mumbled. "Am I the only one who hasn't seen any of this in person?" Will suddenly felt like someone was behind her. Then she heard a voice.

"I have something special in mind for you," The voice echoed through Will's mind.

"Did you guys hear that?" Will asked.

"No, what was it?" Taranee asked.

"I heard a voice, it said that it had something special in mind for me," Will replied. _What is it planning? _She wondered.

"I really think we should go to Kandrakar and see the Oracle now," Hay Lin said with a tone of worry in her voice. Then it suddenly occurred to Will what that creature could be planning.

"Oh no...Matt!" Will suddenly got up and ran out, leaving the rest of the girls at school. She ran as fast as she could to Matt's house. It wasn't very far away from Sheffield and at the speed that Will was going, she made it there in only a few minutes. Out of breath, she rang the doorbell frantically. "Come on, come on..." She mumbled. It felt like forever to her, but Matt finally answered the door.

"Will, what's wrong?" He asked with worry when he saw that she was completely out of breath.

"Huff...I just wanted...to see you..." Will replied.

"I know you well enough to know that's not the reason you came rushing here. Come on, come inside," He said as he took her hand and brought her inside. Will plopped down on Matt's couch, still a bit tired from her run there. Matt was just about to sit down next to her when the doorbell rang. He went to answer it and there were the four other girls.

"Jeez Will, why do you have to be so fast?" Irma whined, out of breath.

"Sorry, I just got so worried about Matt that I couldn't think of anything else," Will said as she walked to the door to see the other girls.

"Would someone mind filling me in here?" Matt asked. All of the girls welcomed themselves inside and plopped down in Matt's living room.

"Well, Will's being paranoid as usual and-" Cornelia cut Irma off.

"But she has a good reason to be paranoid. She heard a voice say that it had something special in mind for her," Cornelia said. "And it wouldn't be the first time that someone came after Matt to get to Will."

"Yeah, and we think it's connected to the whole ice thing," Hay Lin added on.

"Oh, okay, I understand now," Matt replied.

"Will, I really think we need to go to Kandrakar and find out what's going on," Taranee stated.

"But I can't just leave Matt. What if something happens?" Will asked with worry.

"I'll stay behind," Irma replied. "My butt's still sore from all that falling and I don't really feel like going back to Kandrakar," She continued.

"Thank you, Irma," Will said as she pulled the Heart of Kandrakar out from under her shirt. She had been wearing the Heart as a necklace. "Guardians unite!" She called out. The Heart responded and within moments, the girls were transformed.

"Huh? Is it just me or do we look different than we usually do when we transform?" Irma asked as she fiddled with her longer, losely curled hair. She looked the other girls over, the main difference in their transformed selves was their hair. Taranee's was no longer pulled back into a spider like look, instead it was short, just like her everyday hair. Cornelia's hair was no longer extremely long, but reached instead only to her shoulders.

"M-my hair! It's shorter!" Cornelia cried. She had gotten so used to having her hair super long in guardian form that it felt odd to have it even shorter than it was in normal form. She looked at her reflection in the window. "This...actually suits me..." She mumbled as she looked herself over.

"I look awesome!" Hay Lin yelled from inside Matt's bathroom. She was looking at herself in the full length mirror, admiring her loosely curled genie like hairstyle and new ensemble. Her clothes were now much more frilly and suited her fashion designer personality much better. As all of the other girls were admiring their hair, Will couldn't find anything different about hers.

"There's nothing different," She sighed.

"Uh, look down Will," Irma said as she looked at Will's skirt.

"My skirt..." Will mumbled. It now had a slit down the side and the waistline was now straight instead of wrapping around her belly button. However, there was now something very different from the rest of girls outfits around her waist - a belt version of her bracelet. Hay Lin then came out of the bathroom and looked at the other girls.

"Looking good!" She said with a smile.

"You don't look bad yourself, Hay Hay," Irma said with a smirk. "Well, shouldn't you get to Kandrakar?"

"Yeah," Will replied, but before opening the fold to Kandrakar, she ran to Matt and embraced him tightly. "I love you and I'm sorry," She whispered, so quietly that no one else except Matt heard her.

"You have nothing to apologize for," He whispered back. Will then pulled away and opened the fold. She didn't want to leave - Irma wasn't exactly known to be reliable after all - but she knew that she had to. Her, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin went through the fold. Irma then plopped down Matt's couch and put her feet up on the coffee table.

"Looks like you need a big strong girl's protection," She teased. "So...got any chocolate cream puffs?" She asked.

"Hey, if you can cook better than Will, then go ahead and make some," Matt replied as he pointed to the kitchen.

"Oh, I'm a wonderful cook. Comes with the territory," Irma stated smugly as she walked into the kitchen. "I just happen to have the recipe memorized." She then set out to make the cream puffs. "I can't believe that you have all of the ingredients I need!" She yelled with excitement. Matt just shrugged.

"My mom does a lot of baking for parties," He replied. He watched Irma run around the kitchen, gathering everything that she needed as if she were a squirrel.

"What're you looking at?" Irma asked as she glanced over at him.

"Nothing, I just find it funny how obsessed with food you are," Matt replied. Irma laughed at his remark. Sometimes Matt found it comforting how carefree Irma was. He watched her use everything in his kitchen as if she were a professional chef. "Where did you learn to make things like this?" He asked.

"Oh, Joel taught me a few things and chocolate cream puffs are my favorite food so..." Irma trailed off. She put the chocolate that needed to be melted down in a saucepan on the stove.

"Hey, could you hand me the phone? It's right next to you," Matt asked.

"Oh, sure," Irma replied. She brought the phone over to him and sat down at the kitchen table, watching Matt's every move. Matt pulled a phone book out from one of the cabinets and started looking through it.

"A Midgale phonebook? Who're you calling in Midgale?" Irma asked.

"Can you keep a secret?" He asked as he flipped through the pages. _Why am I even asking Irma this? She's the gossip queen, of course she can't keep a secret._ He thought to himself. He finally found the phone number that he was looking for.

"Sure can. I still haven't gotten around to telling Joel about the guardians," She answered.

"Okay, well...I'm planning a concert in Will's honor. That's why I've been doing so much in Midgale, it's taken a lot of planning. Especially since I've had to get invitations for everyone that she's close to..." Matt trailed off.

"So why all this work anyway? You MUST have a reason for it," Irma was intrigued. She loved secrets and her and Matt never really got to share any.

"Sorry, can't talk anymore. Have to make a phone call," He replied. He knew that Irma couldn't keep it to herself, so he figured that it would be better not to tell her just why he was planning such a huge event.

"Alright, I can take a hint. You don't want to tell me. I get it," Irma mumbled as she watched Matt dial the phone number.

"Hi, it's Matt Olsen. From Cobalt Blue. I called earlier about renting the concert hall for the Friday after next...uh-huh...yes...alright, thank you!" Matt then hung up the phone and put the phone book away.

"Well?" Irma asked, anxious to hear what they had said.

"The concert hall in Midgale has been booked for the Friday after next by Cobalt Blue for a private party," Matt replied with a smile. Everything was going according to plan. Well, everything except for the fact that Will was currently in another dimension conversing with a higher being about strange weather occurrences. But other than that, everything was perfect.

"That's great!" Irma stated happily. Then she remembered that she had left the chocolate on the stove. "Oh shoot, I'll bet it's burning by now or something!" Irma yelled as she ran to the stove, but was shocked when she saw a little dormouse on the counter licking the chocolate out of the saucepan.

"Mr. Huggles, you know you're not supposed to have chocolate," Matt said as he walked over to the counter and picked Mr. Huggles up. The little dormouse immediately found his place on Matt's shoulder, where he always liked to sit. Though a bit of an odd pet to have, Matt loved Mr. Huggles. His grandfather was a veterinarian and also owned a pet shop, so Matt had inherited his grandfather's love for animals. Mr. Huggles was especially important to Matt though, since the sweet little dormouse belonged to both him and Will and they alternated weeks taking care of him. He remembered the day that he first met Will and Mr. Huggles like it was yesterday.

"_Hi, little one! Are you okay?" Will asked as she reached down to pet the little dormouse. "OUCH!" She screamed when the dormouse bit her. "You ungrateful little creature! I saved you!" Will yelled. _

"_Need some help?" Will heard someone ask her. She assumed it was Uriah, returning to torture the poor creature. "So you came back, huh? Thanks, but I can handle this on my own," She said angrily as she slammed her fists down on the boy's foot. _

"_Ow! What was that for?!" The boy screamed, grabbing his foot in pain._

"_Oops! I'm sorry! I thought you were someone else!" Will suddenly realized that it wasn't Uriah and apologized profusely. "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."_

"_Dormice are pretty angry animals, but you're no sheep yourself either," The boy stated with a bit of a smirk._

"_Aren't you Matt? I liked you at the Halloween party. Uh, I mean, I liked your voice," Will said nervously as she stood up._

"_Thank you," Matt replied._

"_My name's Will."_

"_Is that your friend?" Matt asked, referring to the dormouse. "Look at it, it's still half asleep. Maybe this will help," He said as he pulled his sweater out of his bag and wrapped it around the dormouse. "Dormice hibernate through the winter, so they need a lot of warmth."_

"_Wow, you know a lot about animals."_

"_My grandfather has a pet shop. But I can't take this there though, it's already full," Matt said as he handed the dormouse to Will._

"_Wait, I don't even know how to take care of him..."_

"_Don't worry, you two are made for each other! I'll see you in school. Here's my number if you have some trouble," Matt said as he wrote his phone number down on a sheet of paper. "You can call anytime you want."_

Matt was then suddenly snapped back to reality by the sound of Irma washing the saucepan out in the sink. "Looks like it's a good thing that I forgot to turn the stove on..." Irma mumbled. Suddenly, she felt a cold wind blow on her.

"You're wasting your time, dear guardian. I'm not after the boy, I'm after you," Irma heard a voice from behind her say.

"Did you hear that?" Irma asked Matt as she looked behind her nervously. Although she was slightly relieved to find nothing behind her, she was still a bit frightened.

"Hear what?" Matt replied.

"N-nothing. It's nothing," Irma stuttered. _I really hope the other girls find out what this thing is soon. I'm actually getting a bit scared here. _Irma thought to herself.

Meanwhile, the other girls had just arrived in Kadrakar. "It's been far too long since the last time that we saw each other, girls," the Oracle stated with a smile. He had a very kind and gentle appearance to him. "I see you have obtained your new guardian clothes."

"Wait, so you gave these to us?" Hay Lin asked.

"No, I did not. As your powers grow, they start adapting to who you are more and more. You may notice when you use them that they're far easier for you to control," The Oracle replied.

"Well, I guess that explains my belt. I've been wearing that bracelet for years," Will said as fiddled with her belt.

"That is only a partial reason for your belt, Will. While all of your guardian forms are very different from how they used to be, all of them maintained the same color scheme of purple and green. Yours however, now has a golden color, signifying that it serves a special purpose. What that purpose is, however, even I don't know. No guardian has ever received such an item before upon transforming."

"As much as I'd like to know more about what's going on with our powers, we came here for a different reason, and I'd really like to discuss it. Who was that person that I saw on the cruise ship?" Cornelia asked.

"And why was half of Heatherfield covered in ice?" Hay Lin added.

"And whose voice did I hear earlier?" Will finished.

"Girls, I think it's time that I show you this. Follow me," The Oracle said as he began walking. He took the girls down the halls of Kandrakar until finally, they reached a room. "It's sealed right now, but I'll unlock it," The Oracle stated. He waved his hand over the door and the locks opened themselves. "Go on in." The girls entered the room as the Oracle told them to and were surprised by what they saw - which was nothing.

"It's an empty room," Cornelia stated as she looked around at the bare white walls.

"No...don't you hear it?" Hay Lin asked. The other girls shook their heads.

"What is it?" Taranee asked.

"Voices. Memories. There's so many of them in this room. I've never been bombarded by so many at once. Happiness. Sadness. Anger. Regret. What exactly is in here, Oracle?"

"Very perceptive, Hay Lin. Though I expected nothing less from the guardian who was gifted with the ability to hear and see the memories of others. The room itself is a time warp. Past, present, future, all of it is inside of this room. Or rather, this room is inside all of it."

"I don't understand. Why are we in here?" Cornelia asked.

"I suspected it right from the very first occurrence, when she first opened a time portal. Every time she leaves, she opens another time portal. While I do not know exactly what time she is from, I do know that she is using time travel to get here." The Oracle then entered the room himself and used his magic to reveal a time portal within the room. "This will be our method of attack, should it come to that."

"Shouldn't we find out more about her first? Like who exactly she is? I don't want to jump into a battle completely blind here," Will asked.

"You are exactly right, Will. I do not know even what time she is from yet, but I believe I can trace back her next time portal. I would like all of you to return to Earth and wait for her next appearance. I will take care of the rest, just take care of yourselves," The Oracle replied as he guided the girls back to the main room.

"Thanks for everything," Will said as she opened the fold. The rest of the girls returned to Earth, but the Oracle stopped Will as she was about to leave.

"I've thought a bit about your belt as well, Will. I have a feeling that it will protect you should you fall into danger," The Oracle stated.

"But why I am the only one who got some kind of special protection?" She asked.

"All I can say is that love opens doors that we never thought existed. You must trust in not only your own abilities, but the abilities of others as well. Remember that. Now, go," The Oracle said as he pointed to the fold. Will then returned home.

Later that night on Earth, after explaining everything to Irma, the girls were over at Will's house, setting up for the sleep overs. "Okay, so Irma, you and Hay Lin will make up one group. Taranee, you and Cornelia will make up another group," Will said.

"But what about you, Will?" Taranee asked.

"I'll be in the one-person-only group."

"We can't just leave you wide open for that creepy thing to do whatever she wants to you," Cornelia replied with a tone of worry in her voice.

"I'll be fine. Divide and conquer is probably her plan, which is all the more reason for me to be in my own group. And I have a feeling that I'm her next target. I can always teletransport out of here if need be."

"Alright, if you're sure," Taranee replied. The rest of the girls grabbed their things and left, leaving Will alone at her house.

"Okay, everything will be fine. I'll just go to bed and see what happens." Will had started talking to herself. "This place is so lonely without mom here. Wow, I can't believe that I actually want my mom. I'm such a baby," She mumbled as she went to her room and changed into her pajamas. "Okay, nothing to worry about. Just crawl under the covers and go to sleep. What's so scary about that?" Will said nervously as she tucked herself into bed. "Yeah, this is fine..." Within a few moments, Will had fallen asleep. However, what waited for her in the dream world wasn't unicorns.

"_Stop it! No more! No more needles. I don't want to be an experiment anymore! Please stop! Let me go!"_

"_You should be grateful, you'd be dead right now if you weren't such a marvelous experiment. And don't worry, once I perfect this, I'll free you from this misery..."_

"Aaah!" Will screamed as she awoke from her dream. "That place, it looked like a laboratory...where was that?" She mumbled. "I'll talk to the other girls about this tomorrow. Right now I just want to get some sleep." Will closed her eyes to go back to sleep, but jolted up from her bed when she saw the same fairy that Cornelia had seen before. She could hear faint whispers coming from all directions and echoing through her mind as she felt a chill wind blow on her. Then she saw the creature at the end of the room, as though she were a phantom. The very sight of her sent chills down Will's spine. But she vanished when Will blinked. "Okay, I really don't want to be here alone right now. I'll just teletransport." She pulled the Heart of Kandrakar out and teletransported herself to Matt's house. She then crawled under Matt's covers as quietly as she could, but still woke him up.

"Huh? Will?" Matt asked, still half asleep.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I just don't want to be alone and I'm too embarrassed to tell the other girls that I couldn't even handle staying the night alone after I fought so hard for it," She whispered.

"What happened that made you teletransport over here though?" He asked.

"I'll tell you in the morning. Right now, I just want to get some nightmare free sleep," Will replied.

"Alright. Promise you'll tell me?"

"Promise," Will whispered back. Although it wasn't the first time that Will had snuck into his room at night, she hadn't done so in a while. Ever since she discovered that she was a guardian, villains had made a habit out of attacking her in her dreams, so she had gotten to the point where whenever one did that, she'd teletransport to either Matt's house or one of the other guardians' houses. There were times when she even had trouble waking up from the dreams where they attacked her. Even just having Mr. Huggles with her was enough to comfort her a little, at least she knew that the little dormouse would detect evil and wake her up. "By the way, I might be in here a lot during the course of the next two weeks," She added on.

"I figured as much," Matt laughed a little before wrapping his arms around her and going back to sleep. The second that Matt had fallen asleep, Mr. Huggles crawled up next to Will and snuggled with her.

"It's always comforting to wake up to the smell of a dormouse," Will giggled quietly. Within a few moments, she was able to fall back asleep, and didn't have another nightmare rest of the night.

**Note:** Yes, I do realize that the ending in this chapter's a bit of an odd thing for Will do to, but I had already started on chapter 3 before thinking that I should change it, so just go with it. There's a reason for it in the next chapter and I didn't want to try and change the chapter that much. Anyway, R&R please.


End file.
